Machine-gun.



A. L. CLARK.

MACHINE GUN,

#PPLICATION men 02c. 30. 1914.

Patented Jan. 25, 1%.

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A L. CLARK. MACHINE GUN.

APPLICATION HLED DEC. 30, !914,

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

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Aiirfid L Clark @vihwoow ALFRED L. CLARK, OF DUBUQUE, IOWA.

MACHINE-GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

Application filed December 30, 1914. Serial No. 879,631.

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED L. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dubuque, in the county of Dubuque and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machine-Guns, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machine guns and the leading object is to provide a gun that may be concealed in the ground and under cover and adapted to automatically deliver its charges in various directions above the ground and may be started in its operation at a long distance from the gun.

Another object is toprovide meanswhereby the cartridges may be promiscuously delivered into a hopper in quantities and automatically brought into suitable position for discharge.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the device located in position in the ground and suspended from a cover. Fig. 2 is a perspective end view of the distributer. Fig. 3 is a perspective end view of the distributer and member together with the wheel for discharging the cartridge. Fig. t shows a perspective view of the wheel for exploding the cartridges. Fig. 5 is a section of the distributer and member showing the hopper, the slots and grooves.

Similar characters of reference denote similar parts in all of the figures.

Referring to the drawings 2 designates a shaft on which a part of the gun revolves To one end of the shaft is secured a drive wheel 4 which is connected to the power. The wheel 4 is held on to the shaft by the nut 5. Loosely mounting the shaft, is a body portion or member 6 which is hollow and adapted to compass the distributer hereinafter to ,be described and which is provided with a recess 8 that is cut at an angle on one side 10 through which the shell after discharge is disposed of. It is also provided with an aperture at 11 in which is journaled a shaft 12, on one end of which is mounted a wheel 14; and on. the other end a gear wheel 15 that meshes with the drive wheel 4 on the shaft 2. The wheel 14: is provided with grooves 9 and with the grooves 25 forms barrels 23, from which the cartridges are discharged. In the rear end of each groove 9 is a sharp lug 27 which is adapted to engage the cap of the cartridges and explode the same.

The member 6 has a hopper 18 to receive the cartridges which are conveyed through the opening 16 in the body member to the distributer interior.

The distributer 20 is rigidly fixed on the shaft 2 and rotates thereby and consists of a hollow shell formed in cone shape and provided with a rim 22 around its larger end. In the rim is cut a series of slots 24 and midway between the slots 24 in the rim are out half circle grooves 25. The edges of the slots 24; are cut away at 26 sufficiently to allow the head of the cartridge to enter. and prevent the said head from falling into the bottom of the slot, as it slides to its position.

For the purpose of giving the machine a tipping motion from side to side whereby the path of the projectile is varied there is provided a pin 28 rigidly fixed into one side of the drive wheel 4 to which is attached an arm 30 that swings back and forward as the wheel 4 is rotated and turns the machine.

This machine when completed is placed in an opening 35 in the ground and hangs suspended from a slightly oval metal cover 32 y a hanger 34, firmly fixed in the member 6. The cover is provided with one or more openings 38 through which the cartridge is discharged. An explosive bomb i0 buried in the ground and attached to the body portion 6 by means of a flexible cord member 41, serves as an anchor which will explode upon an attempt of one to remove the machine gun and its cover from the earth pit 1r opening 85 in the ground.

The manner of operating this machine gun is substantially as follows: The member 6 is placed upon the shaft 2 near the drive wheel 4 and the distributer 20 is rigidly fixed upon the same shaft with the rim 2-2 encompassed by the member 6 and the nut 3 is secured on the shaft holding the distributer in position, with the rim of the distributer in the member 6 and the wheel 14. mounted on the shaft 12, and the drive wheel 4 brought into engagement with the wheel 15. Then the cartridges are shoveled into the hopper 18 and pass down through the opening 16 into the distributer 20. Power is then applied to the drive wheel L which rotates the distributer 20 and the cartridges .fall down into the slots 24 until their heads slots 25 and come under the wheel 14 where the groove 9 in the wheel 1+2 comes into conjunction with a slot 25 of the rim and thereby forms a barrel with a cartridge therein, and the lug 27 in engagement with the cap of the cartridge. The cartridge will then be in direct line to be discharged through the opening 38 in the cover 82 and the shell of the cartridge will pass out through the slot one way and. the other sufficient to give to each shot a: different horizontal direction.

This machine may be started by electric current a long distance from the machine.

Flt will be seen by this mode of constructing an l concealii'ig of the machine in the ground and covering it by a slightly curved cover, that it will not be readlly discovered by the enemy and it will have by its rapid and wide range oi. discharge complete control of a large country, and tl e operator may be at a long distance from the concealed gun and out of the range of danger.

The guns are employed to greatest advantage when a large number thereof are placed in pits here and there over a given territory and said guns aimed in such a manner as to completely sweep such territory against trespass of an enemy.

Having now described my invention what I claim is 1. In a device of the character described, a cover plate adapted tofit over an earth pit and having a projectile opening, a machine gun suspended from the cover and within the pit, and means for automatically varying the directions taken by the projectiles through said openin 2. In a device of the character described, a cover plate adapted to fit over an earth pit and having a projectile opening, a machine gun suspended from the cover and within the pit and including a moving part, and means set into operation by said part to cause swinging of said gun to vary the directions taken by the projectiles through the openin 3. In a device of the character described, a body member, a pair of rotating members carried by said body member, said rotating members having registering cartridge holdmembers having registering cartridge holdmg recesses, one of said rotating members havmg rim firing pro ections adjacent lts recesses to fire the cartndge when the recesses of both of said rotatin members re istdr b D 7a one of said rotating members having an in ternal cartridge chamber, and means for delivering the cartridges from said chamber to said recesses.

5. In a device of the character described, a body member, a pair of rotating members carried by said body member, said rotating members having registering cartridge holding recesses, firing means, one of said rotating members having an internal cartridge chamber, a rim on said body member partially surrounding the chambered rotating member, means for causing the cartridges to pass from the interior of said chambered rotating member to the exterior thereof and upon said rim in position to be picked up by the recessed portions of the chambered rotating member. i

6. In a device of the character described, a body, a pair of rotating members, both recessed to hold cartridges between them, and one being chambered to provide a, cartridge magazine, firing means, a rim on said body partially surrounding the chambered member, means for causing cartridges to pass from the interior to the exterior of the chambered member and upon said rim, said rim being spaced from said chambered member sulliciently to accommodate a single row only of cartridges therebetween.

. In a device of the character described,

a cover plate adapted to fit over an earth pit and having a projectile opening, a machine gun suspended from the cover and Within the pit, means for automatically varying the direction taken by the projectiles through the opening, and an explosive anchor connecting the suspended gun with the bottom of the earth pit.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED L. CLARK. Witnesses:

M. M. CADY, E. A. Game. 

